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Informed & Organic

I have been reading a lot of articles lately on the whole pro-GMO/non-GMO debate. I won’t quote them or link them here, as some came from well-known agricultural publications that in my opinion could stand to take a slightly less-biased stance when writing these pieces. If you are interested in reading them, please feel free to email me and I can tell you where to find them. I myself won’t be giving those pages any more shares/views.

I will however, clear up a few things.

1. As an organic farmer and consumer, I actually do know what GMO/GEO/GM/ bio-technologically modified foods and seeds are. The articles I have come across tend to refer to organic and non-GMO supporters as being uneducated on the subject. The idea that organic consumers and producers are uneducated is insulting. If I consider myself a farmer who cares about my career at all (which I do) and a consumer who cares about her health and environment (which I do) then of course I have done my research (and yes, I realize this may not always be the case but as someone who personally knows plenty of non-gmo and organic advocates, they are anything but uninformed on the subject).

2. The biotech industry’s biggest argument right now is that consumers are uneducated as to what a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is, and that heritage seeds and selective breeding actually falls under this umbrella term. I find this interesting as more than a few reputable sources actually refer to Genetic Engineering and Genetic Modification as one in the same. The World Health Organization, for example, defines GMOs as:

3. These biased articles are a direct attack at the organic movement. Not that I feel it’s threatened. If they are arguing semantics of terminology and grasping at opportunities to call organic supporters uneducated and uninformed, then they are obviously running out of ideas.

4. Whatever they decide to call it or not call it, I, as an organic producer and consumer, am not doing what I do to fight against some silly term. It’s much bigger than the wording (whatever that ends up being). If I can no longer say that I am “non-gmo” then I will instead say that “I am against the unnatural alteration of genetic material in our food using DNA isolation and recombinant technology. I support selective breeding which is a very different and quite natural process, and is a type of biotechnology that has been used for millennia by farmers and growers that care about what they are producing/eating.”

If you are interested in reading more about GMOs, or want to be clearer on the terminology, here are some great links to get you started – and to share with friends! The misconception is that organic advocates are uninformed. Let’s change that.